Battery and method for producing the battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9608239-B2
Application number	US-201314396243-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2013
Priority date	Jun 28, 2012
Publication date	Mar 28, 2017
Grant date	Mar 28, 2017

Abstract

A battery includes an external terminal member and an insulating member on an outer surface of a lid member so that an interval between the insulating member and the lid member is smaller in a long side of the lid member than in a short side. A weld mark is formed over the entire circumference of the lid member to extend across the outer surface of the lid member and an open end face of the case body. The weld mark not only extends across the outer surface of the lid member and the open end face of the case body but also reaches an outer side surface of the case body in a zone of the long side of the lid member facing the insulating member, but does not reach the outer side surface of the case body in a zone except the former zone.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A battery including:
a case body having a flattened shape and including an open end and internally containing a power generating element;
a lid member formed in a shape having long side parts and short side parts and placed to close an opening of the case body;
external terminal members provided to penetrate through the lid member and connected to the power generating element in the case body and partially exposed to an outside of the lid member; and
insulating members placed on at least an upper surface of the lid member to insulate the external terminal members from the lid member,
wherein:
an interval between an edge of each of the insulating members and a long side of the lid member is smaller than an interval between an edge of each of the insulating members and a short side of the lid member,
the lid member is fitted in the opening of the case body,
a weld mark extending across the upper surface of the lid member and an open end face of the case body is formed along an entire circumference of the lid member so that the lid member is fixed to the case body and an inside of the case body is hermetically sealed from an external environment,
a zone of the lid member along the long side at least facing one of the insulating members is a wide-width weld mark zone in which the weld mark is formed to reach an outer side surface of the case body in addition to the upper surface of the lid member and the open end face of the case body,
the weld mark is formed to have a weld spreading depth of a cross section that is larger in the wide-width weld mark zone than in a zone other than the wide-width weld mark zone,
the weld mark is formed to be spread into the lid member from an extended line extended to a surface of the weld mark from a boundary between the lid member and the case body in an unmelted portion during welding, and
the external terminal members and the insulating members are respectively provided in positions close to both end of the lid member in a long side direction.

2. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein a center line direction of an approximate sector shape defined by a portion having a circular arc surface of the weld mark in cross section is tilted more outward in the wide-width weld mark than in a zone other than the wide-width weld mark.

3. The battery according to claim 2 , wherein the lid member is larger in plate thickness than the case body.

4. The battery according to claim 2 , wherein the wide-width weld mark zone is formed in the long side direction of the lid member over a zone facing one of the insulating members, a zone facing another of the insulating members, and an intermediate zone between the zones.

5. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein a value obtained by dividing a weld spreading width of the weld mark into the case body by a weld spreading width into the lid member when the weld mark is seen from outside with respect to the boundary is larger in the wide-width weld mark zone than in the zone other than the wide-width weld mark zone.

6. The battery according to claim 5 , wherein the lid member is larger in plate thickness than the case body.

7. The battery according to claim 5 , wherein the wide-width weld mark zone is formed in the long side direction of the lid member over a zone facing one of the insulating members, a zone facing another of the insulating members, and an intermediate zone between the zones.

8. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein a value obtained by dividing a surface length of the weld mark located within the case body by a surface length within the lid member in cross section with respect to the extended line is larger in the wide-width weld mark than in the zone other than the wide-width weld mark.

9. The battery according to claim 8 , wherein the lid member is larger in plate thickness than the case body.

10. The battery according to claim 8 , wherein the wide-width weld mark zone is formed in the long side direction of the lid member over a zone facing one of the insulating members, a zone facing another of the insulating members, and an intermediate zone between the zones.

11. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the wide-width weld mark zone is formed in the long side direction of the lid member over a zone facing one of the insulating members, a zone facing another of the insulating members, and an intermediate zone between the zones.

12. The battery according to claim 11 , wherein the lid member is larger in plate thickness than the case body.

13. The battery according to claim 1 , wherein the lid member is larger in plate thickness than the case body.

14. A method for producing a battery including: a case body having a flattened shape and including an open end and internally containing a power generating element; and a lid member formed in a shape having long side parts and short side parts and placed to close an opening of the case body, the method comprising:
fitting the lid member in the opening of the case body without covering an open end face of the case body; and
welding a boundary between an upper surface of the lid member and the open end face of the case body along an entire circumference of the lid member to fix the member to the case body and hermetically seal an inside of the case body from an external environment to form a weld mark having a weld spreading depth of a cross section that larger in a wide-width weld mark zone than in a zone other than the wide-width weld mark zone, the wide-width weld mark zone of the weld mark being formed to reach an outer side surface of the case body in addition to the upper surface of the lid member and the open end face of the case body,
wherein:
the battery to be produced comprises:
external terminal members provided to penetrate through the lid member and connected to the power generating, element in the case body and partially exposed to an outside of the lid member: and
insulating members placed on at least the upper surface of the lid member to insulate the external terminal members from the lid member,

the external terminal members and the insulating members are placed in positions close to both ends of the lid member in a long side direction,
an interval between an edge of each of the insulating members and a long side of the lid member is smaller than an interval between an edge of each of the insulating members and a short side of the lid member, and
energy used for the welding of the zone other than the wide-width weld mark zone is set to be less than energy used for welding of the wide-width weld mark zone.

15. The method for producing a battery according to claim 14 , wherein
the battery to be produced is configured such that the external terminal members and the insulating members are respectively provided in positions close to both ends of the lid member in the long side direction, and
the welding using the for welding of the wide-width weld mark zone is performed on the lid member in the long side direction over the zone facing one of the insulating members, the zone facing another of the insulating members, and an intermediate zone between the zones.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd
• Primearth Ev Energy Co Ltd

Inventors

• Nakayama Hiroyuki
• Suzuki Satoshi
• Harayama Takashi
• Naruse Youichi
• Kajita Kaoru
• Okada Toshiya
• Kajiwara Takamasa

Classifications

• H01M10/04 Primary

  Construction or manufacture in general (H01M10/058, H01M10/12, H01M10/28, H01M10/38 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01M50/148 Primary

  characterised by their shape · CPC title

• H01M4/04

  Processes of manufacture in general · CPC title

• H01M10/049

  Processes for forming or storing electrodes in the battery container · CPC title

• H01M50/176

  for prismatic or rectangular cells (H01M50/181 takes precedence) · CPC title